Also known as Out Of This World™, Another World is a pioneer action/platformer that released across more than a dozen platforms since its debut in 1991. Along the years, Another World™ has attained cult status among critics and sophisticated gamers alike.

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Reviews

“Another World is a landmark game for a host of reasons, from the 2D polygonal work to its excellent narrative.”
8.5/10 – IGN

“A great example of how to offer a classic game to a new audience with improved graphics and sound for a low price.”
8/10 – Destructoid

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About This Game

Also known as Out Of This World™, Another World is a pioneer action/platformer that released across more than a dozen platforms since its debut in 1991. Along the years, Another World™ has attained cult status among critics and sophisticated gamers alike.

Another World™ chronicles the story of Lester Knight Chaykin a young scientist hurtled through space and time by a nuclear experiment that goes wrong. In an alien and inhospitable world, you will have to dodge, outwit, and overcome the host of alien monsters, while surviving an environment as deadly as your enemies. Only a perfect blend of logic and skill will get you past the deadly obstacles that lie in wait.

Key Features:

Remastered presentation: a joint effort between visionary game-designer Eric Chahi and developer DotEmu, Another World is back in its 20th Anniversary Edition with High Definition graphics faithful to the original design.

3 difficulty modes: Normal (easier than original game), Difficult (Equal to original game) and Hardcore (more difficult than original game)

A new immersive experience: rediscover a cult adventure with 100% remastered sounds and FX

Social features: Steamworks™ integration with 13 achievements.

Extra features: development diary, making of video, technical handbook

In 1991 I first played Another World (also known as Outer World and Out of This World in some regions), a game that would have a greater and more lasting impact on me than any other.

On the surface, it seems clear that Another World is a product of its time, and does not align well to some modern dominant design sensibilities. At the time though, it was pushing the envelope with its use of polygons and 'pixigons' and broke with many established motivational paradigms of the era, relying on a desire to explore and drive through the story rather than achieving a score or preserving lives.

In spite of its vintage, there are things that developer Éric Chahi was able to achieve in Another World that I believe are still relevant, enjoyable and worth aspiring to, even twenty one years after its release.

Upon launching the game, the first thing that stands out is its atmosphere. Within the first moments of the intro cinematic, much of the game's tone is set, as the protagonist Lester (who is only named in the credits) is depicted arriving in his Italian sportscar at an isolated lab on a dark and brooding night. Lester immediately comes across as being successful, independent and yet lonely as he is greeted by the lab's AI and seats himself at a solitary workstation. The cinematic's score echoes this, playing an eerie isolated melody leading up to Lester's appearance, which is joined by a purposeful military percussion as he enters his workplace. As the experiment begins, rhythmic tensions builds before suddenly and unexpectedly, Lester and his desk are vapourised, leaving a charred crater with dissipating charge arcing across its surface.

The game itself begins with Lester and his desk materialising beneath the surface of a deep stone pool, a stark contrast to his technically advanced (and air filled) lab. The sense of displacement is real and highlights that Lester is no longer in an environment that he controls.

Another world has very little incidental music, using the intro cinematic to provide an initial sense of tone and pacing before giving way to sound effects. The first several scenes offer a full soundscape, with forlorn wind whistling through a rocky canyon, punctuated by seismic rumbles. All of the game's sound effects feel raw and visceral, adding to the game's air of danger and urgency. As the game progresses, ambient audio becomes more sparse, relying mostly on footfalls and laser fire to fill in the space. As a result of publisher pressure from Interplay[1], the SNES port (and derivatives) feature additional in-game tension music that deviates significantly from the style established in the cinematics. In addition to being out of place, I feel that this also detracts from some of the game's sense of loneliness and isolation.

In contrast to many other games of the era (Civilization, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Lemmings, Street Fighter II and Sonic The Hedgehog, for example) Another World has a comparatively understated 16 colour palette with recurring dominant blue hues that help support its atmosphere of isolation and loneliness. Its muted tones depict an not only an unforgiving and unmoving world (in which Lester with his red hair stands out), but also one that can be eerily beautiful.

The game capitalises on its low-fi presentation, using implied detail over actual detail in a way that allows the player to project and interpret things rather than have them explicitly defined. It's difficult to know how much of this is a happy coincidence due to technical limitation of the time and how much was intentional minimalism, though there are a number of moments where the game gives the player fleeting glimpses of something separated from normal gameplay (using the short city view or black monster cutscenes as an example), enough to only give a sense or impression of what's shown.

Lester is presented for the most part as a "silent protagonist", leaving his character open to player interpretation and projection. Beyond highlighting how out of place he is, the only definition the game gives Lester is when he is shown briefly emoting during his first encounter with members of the alien race (who presumably are indigenous to this planet, leaving Lester the real alien).

There's a degree of history and heritage to the indigenous people depicted within the game, who at once display aspects of technical advancement alongside cultural barbarity, with energy weapons and teleportation providing a stark counterpoint to the apparent slavery and bloodsports.

All three lines of dialogue are delivered in an alien language, two delivered by aggressive guards and one by the companion encountered by the player early in the game. This companion is shown to be amicable, caring and resourceful, and is undoubtedly the most developed character in Another World.

There's a degree of implied co-dependence that Lester and his companion share, and though Lester does not show direct response in game, the manual included with Another World contains a page from Lester's journal expressing concern.

I'm yet to see someone play through the game without feeling a sense of connection to this character, empathy which I believe speaks to the success of Lester's "silent protagonist" role.

The pacing of Another World's gameplay is structured so as to heighten the impact of the game's tension centrepieces. The placement of encounters, obstacles and save points gives the sense that flow and pacing were heavily in mind as the game evolved.

As mentioned earlier, the game relies on players using trial and error (often resulting in death) to explore possibility space and discover solutions. For example, most players' first death will occur whilst they are absorbing the shock of Lester's transition from an air filled lab to beneath the surface of a murky pool. Invariably, all first time players I have observed are quickly pulled down into the depths by a mass of tentacles reaching from below. This first death introduces the notion that this new world (and the game itself) is not a friendly one, and that Lester's immediate task is to survive.

In modern context, this death oriented learning would be considered a negative aspect. At the time of release, the popularity of titles like Dragon's Lair and Sierra's line of adventure games, which heavily featured player death, made this much more accessible. To help make death feel less negative, many of these games employed special death animations or cutscenes as a reward. In particular the death messages/puns and animations in Sierra adventure are highly celebrated. Deaths with cutscenes in Another World are short and in line with the survival horror aesthetic, showing a glimpse of tightly framed jaws or claws in a way that implies the violent outcome without directly depicting it. Several types of deaths don't feature cutscenes and tend to be more graphic and bloody, though the zoomed out perspective gives them lesser impact.

Unlike Dragon's Lair however, each death in Another World (with the exception of combat encounters and platforming obstacles) provides a learning opportunity, and as such, technically isn't an end-state. This perspective feels to be an important aspect of finding Another World enjoyable and rewarding.

Two years before Another World's release, Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia solidified what would be known as the "cinematic platformer", a style of platformer known for relatively realistic movement and more maturely constructed storytelling...

Another World has been remembered for over two decades now because of the uniquely cohesive experience and sleek vectorized visuals it offers, from a time where graphics and storytelling were often terse and stilted.

While this game is short, not much longer than two hours, those two hours have been solely designed by French artist Eric Chahi, and intimate attention has been paid to the detailed backgrounds, foregrounds and animations. Pacing and level design have been carefully decided to fit the overall theme.

This comes from an era where all this fit on two floppy disks -- this entire game had to fit in just under 3MB. So while music and sound may seem sparse, and some areas seem underpopulated or underdetailed, just realize this entire game was the same size as a modern-day high-resolution background image.

As a result of being designed around these limitations, what the game does have and does do, it does very well. Another World is a game that manages to have both atmosphere and style, in a tightly-knit package.

As for the actual gameplay, it is enjoyable -- combat is intense and quick, leading to frequent deaths but the kind of feeling that will keep you on your toes. Puzzles are sometimes unusual, I think more an indication of the era the game came from -- puzzle logic even in most story-driven games for the time (point-and-click adventure games) were often unforgiving and exacting. So while this game has some odd puzzles, its quick respawns and common checkpoints often allow you to figure out the way through quickly without too much frustration from quick successive deaths.

Overall, a surprisingly unique and strong narrative for the time, relying on virtually no written or spoken word. As for it's price point: 10 dollars is not unfair to ask, and those who have played this before might be willing to drop that much for the nostalgia factor. For most other people, 10 dollars can certainly get you a lot more than two hours of gameplay. But, as a milestone in video game history, and as an experience that still stands on its own merits, it's still worth giving it your time -- it doesn't ask for much.

P.S. Another World will likely be going on seasonal sale at 2.50USD from its current 10USD price point, as it has during the Summer 2014 Steam Sale. If you're on the fence, I'd strongly recommend picking it up during the next wave of seasonal sales.

This has been one of the best games I've ever played, and I'm not being nostalgic, I wasn't even born back when the game first came out. This being the very first time I play it.

Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition is a 2D sidescroller cinematic platformer.

You're Lester Knight Chaykin, an unexpectedly athletic physic that works alone, while in your lab, something goes wrong with your particle accelerator, and you get yourself teleported to you know where (I mean, look at the name of the game). There you must find a way to get home again, but it's not going to be an easy journey, neither one that you can make alone.

I remember this game on the amiga from my childhood with fond and frustrating memories.

This remake is true to the original with only subtle changes and an all new hard mode. The main character manages to get through the entire tale without saying a word which is fairly impressive given the minimal graphics and sound.

Hard die&retry sequences and visionary cinematic design make for a true classic. Even though it can be finished under 20 minutes (I dare you to achieve that, even after you've beat the game once), it belongs in a musem (and your library).

Just finished playing the [slightly] remastered version of Another World. I say slightly because even though they smoothed out the blocky graphics and animations, it still holds a dear place in my heart as they kept the original art style for the time that the technology would allow. Playing this game brought back a lot of memories as I remember playing this on my brother's Sega Genesis 20 years ago! And, most annoying of all, I never beat the game back then! Time restrictions due to tv-limits and homework, coupled with the fact that there was no save option, made the game nearly impossible for a kid like me to beat. So, proudly, I am now able to say I beat the game!

Sure, it doesn't have the snazzy graphics, enthralling plot (there's no real talking throughout the whole game), or variation on gameplay that many of today's games offer, but it was a great game for its time and I can remember that thanks to this anniversary edition. What the game does very well, is pull the player into 'another world' through an immediate introduction of a science experiment gone wrong that transports the player. The characer has no personality, but the goal of trying to guide this lost soul through a strange world is enthralling enough to pull a player in, and forgive the game's lack of contemporary graphics. Infinite respawns upon death, back to the last checkpoint, make the game fun to play and explore, although the game is short. A skilled player could probably beat the game in under two hours upon their first attempt. Quickly executed button pushing requires a certain amount of skill, and some of the puzzles are fun to figure out. A few of the puzzles will most likely require help from this new-fangled contraption called the interwebs...probably a fad :P

I would recommend this game to anyone who wants to see what a great game from 20 years ago (that can still hold its own) is like!

Ratings out of 10: 1 = low, 10 = high.Graphics: 4 (a 9 if this were remade today)Sound: 8 (sound makes up a huge amount of the game's atmosphere, especially since there's no talking)Story: 8 (I may be a bit biased, but I can see this as a great sci-fi novel)Gameplay: 9 (Experimenting your way through a foreign world was a puzzle in itself)Execution: 10 (Gotta give credit to the game for being such a well-done game for its time. Didn't really see much in the way of glitches or problems. Getting stuck on a puzzle doesn't count!)Overall: 8 (I'd love to rate this game higher, but today's gaming landscape is so far advanced compared to 20 years ago. Many indie developers could probably make a game similiar to this if they put their hearts into it.)

One of the best games ever made, now re-made (more reworked :)They say memories are priceless, but apparently they are only $9.99If you palyed this long ago, it's still great. If you didn't, then you might not?

The game conveys it's story without words, and you learn by dying ALOT.

This has to be one the best games from the 1990s, if not the best. When I played this the first time on my trusty Amiga 500 I was mesmerised, spellbound, by the intro sequence. The graphics were stunning for its time and still, to this day, seem ageless in all its glory. Owning a piece of gaming history is well worth the 3 quid it costs at the moment.

I've been trying to beat this game since I was a child.Now I can continue that tradition in proper fasion on steam!I'll never beat it... I can pull a 10.0 any day in any FPS..But this game basically dressed me up as a little princess and slams a bat up my ♥♥♥♥.I, don't, know, why. And still, I love it.... And really, I had to buy it as soon as I seen it on steam.20th anniversary edition, wow..Yup I'm old!

The updated graphics are honestly awkward as hell and look ugly to me, but they give you the original pixel art option. Which looks beautiful these days. Updated audio is top notch I'd say, but still prefer the original. Options are nice though right?

It's a beautiful game that has always captured my imagination and totally obliterates me everytime I try to progress through it.

This game is a good example of "no hand holding". You are thrust into an alien environment and will need to figure out everything on your own. It is not a terribly long game -- but if you figure everything out on your own instead of looking up a walkthough, it will take a while.

You do need to approach the game with the right attitude: It is 20+ years old, so the graphics and general polish suck by modern standards. And the unapologetic lack of any hints/tutorials/popups is something that modern gamers aren't used to.

Jacko Rating 8/10This game is a pearl from my youth and I simply adore the remastered version they have released here. If you played this back in the day on the Amiga 500 or similar then you are gonna luv this release- in fact just buy it now as they didn't mess it up, its the same game with beefed up graphics :)A real out of the box game that could be summed up as a platformer but with a touch of adventure gaming to it mostly due to the design and intro.This game is well worth your money and if you have never played it before then you are probably born post 2000 and have no idea how amazing this was playing it new 20 years ago.Lastly for all you old school gamers simply press Y on your Xbox controller to instantly change it back to the old graphics and take a trip down memory lane, I was constantly pressing this throughout the game.Great Effort to bring this back to the publuc and I only wish this trend of remastering old school classics continues.Marvellous!!

A landmark in video game history. An insane immersive experience designed by Éric Chahi.

I can still remember the first time that I watched Lester walking into his laboratory and witnessing for the first time in my life such a good cinematic experience in video games. I'm still hearing the numeric password sounds and the amazing soundtrack (from my PC speaker back then) while he is executing his experiment.

It's not only about the rotoscoping animation technique that was used back then, it is also about Mr. Chahi's overall design. The gameplay and the game sequences are so well directed that they will make you experience this story at its fullest even when the game is almost silent.

Classic groundbreaking platformer that revolutionized story telling through action in video games.

A Bit More

Gorgeous art style and clever character design accompanied with smooth animation makes Another World come to life.Gameplay is part action part puzzle solving, sometimes both at the same time. Enemies are not dime a dozen in this game and there will be some trail and error to get through them which stifles the action at times but this should not hinder your experience. There is an option to turn the HD version on so newer players who are not used to 1992 graphics can enjoy it even more.

Bottom Line

The game is a must get not just because of it's place in video games history, but also because the gameplay and the entire experience still holds up.